A Second Chance
by trace619
Summary: She had let the love of her life go once, she wasn't about to let it happen again. All she wants is a second chance. Will she get it? Set in season 12/13. One shot.


This story just popped into my head and wouldn't let go. I don't own anything SVU characters belong to Dick Wolf. Reviews are welcome. Hope you enjoy!

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She sits near the back of the church trying to still her shaking hands and control the nauseous feeling that is threatening to overcome her. She watches the couple at the alter and feels her heart drop when she looks at the bride, she looks beautiful. She can't help but think that if she had tried just a little harder, maybe if she would have chased after her when she left it could be her standing at the alter with the love of her life; but she didn't. She thought that if you love someone you let them go, if it's meant to be they'll come back to you. However this wasn't the case she had let her love go and now her love was about to commit herself to someone else. She had to admit he was an attractive man and from what she had heard he was a good man and she would be taken care of.

She was brought back from her thoughts when she heard the pastor ask if there were any objections. Here was her chance it was now or never, but she chickened out and stayed in her seat. Suddenly their previous life together flashed before her eyes; she saw lazy Sunday mornings in bed relaxing, Saturday night movie night on the couch, the rare evening out for dinner, or simply walking hand in hand through the park. She knew what she had to do. Just as the pastor was about to begin speaking she stood up no one seemed to notice, except the bride.

Their eyes met for a brief moment; she looked into her loves eyes and saw shock, fear and dare she say it hope. It took a moment for her to find her voice and when she did it couldn't have been clearer "Excuse me I object"

Suddenly everyone in the church turned and all eyes were on her. Even though she was at the back of the small church she could hear her love whisper her name "Alex"

Alex cleared her throat and stepped into the aisle "Please forgive me for not having the nerve to say something before now. I'm in love with Olivia and have been for the better part of twelve years" she looked at Olivia and their eyes locked "I had the honor and privilege of being loved by her as well but I pushed her away. I thought that if we were meant to be she would come back. I now know that I should have fought for her. I also know that this may be the worst possible time and place to do it but I have to. Olivia I love you and can't imagine my life without you" she noticed Olivia had now began to cry and she could only hope that the tears were in her favor. "Olivia I am begging you to give me another chance, I will get on my knees if I have too. I know we are meant to be together. Please"

Alex was so focused on Olivia that she hadn't noticed that two ushers had walked up alongside her, each placing a hand on her arms "Ma'am you need to leave, now" and began to escort her toward the door. Alex saw Olivia glance at Elliot and then he began walking in her direction. She was unsure if he was coming to help her or help remove her. She knew that Elliot was not her biggest fan especially after how she had treated Olivia, but she also knew that he would do anything for Olivia.

He leaned in and whispered to the other two men "Let go of her" he then turned and faced Alex "Are you sure about what you're doing?"

She was just about to answer when from the corner of her eye she caught movement at the front of the church. She saw Olivia slowly walking away from her fiancé. She was afraid to get her hopes up. Olivia could be coming to tell her to leave for all she knew. Alex did the only thing she could think of and pulled away from the two men and began walking down the aisle toward Olivia. They grabbed her again but Alex jerked away, showing them she was stronger than she appeared. She watched as Olivia's fiancé pulled her back to him.

"Olivia please don't do this, you know I love you" he said.

Alex felt her heart begin to break when Olivia stopped and replied "I know and I love you too but"

Alex cut her off and went with her final plea "Olivia please I'm begging you. I just want a second chance that's all I am asking for. I love you and can't live without you" she was sobbing at this point but didn't care. She gave up once she wasn't about to give up again. She watched as Olivia took a hesitant step toward her but was still holding her fiancés hand. Before Alex could begin again the two men began pulling her toward the exit. Alex began to shout "Olivia I love you, I can never love anyone the way I love you. I love you. Baby please!"

Alex couldn't see very well through her tears but she thought for sure it looked like Olivia was beginning to walk toward her. She felt Elliot pulling the other two men off of her. He leaned in and whispered in her ear "So help me God you better not screw this up again"

She looked up at him and wiped the tears from her eyes. When she looked back Olivia was only a few steps away. Alex began smiling but still afraid to get her hopes to high. She placed her hand on Olivia's cheek and wiped a few tears away. Olivia took Alex's hand in hers "We need to talk" and then pulled her from the church. They walked outside to a secluded garden path; Olivia sat down on a bench and pulled Alex down next to her. "Alex" she began but was cut off.

"Olivia I"

Olivia cut Alex off by holding up her hand "Alex please I need to go first" Alex nodded. She was willing to do whatever Olivia wanted or needed. "Why now? Why today? Alex you could have come and told me this at any time in the last year and a half, but you didn't you waited till my wedding day. Why?"

Alex waited a moment making sure Olivia was finished and it gave her a moment to collect her thoughts. In all the closing arguments she had given she knew this was to be the most important argument of her life. "Olivia I can't say for certain why I waited so long. I guess like I said inside I thought you would come back and now I know how stupid I was to think that. You know the old saying if you love something let it go, if it's meant to be it'll come back to you. I guess I thought you would come back. I now know I should have fought for you. I know this is all my fault and I probably have no right to be here or even be asking you this, but I had too. I can't go on with my life wondering what if" she took a deep breath and took Olivia's hands in hers "Olivia I love you more than I have ever loved anyone or anything in my life. I can't live without you. I am asking, no begging you to please give me a chance. I promise to show you every day how precious you are and how loved you are, and if I have to I will get on my knees every day and beg for your forgiveness. I just want you Olivia that's all I've ever wanted"

Olivia was now struggling to wipe the tears from her face; she looked at the sincere look in Alex's eyes. She knew she had never stopped loving Alex and she truly believed that Alex still loved her. She just wasn't sure if she could open her heart up one more time. She thought for a moment over what Alex had to say before speaking herself "Alex I forgive you" Alex began to smile "And I know I never stopped loving you, but I need to know that you are serious. I can't open my heart up again only to have it broken"

Alex placed one of her hands on Olivia's cheek and made sure she held Olivia's gaze "Olivia I promise you with every fiber of my being that I will never break your heart again. All I'm asking is for one chance. One chance and I will prove that I am worthy of your love" Alex slowly leaned in closer to Olivia; she was dying to kiss her but was afraid. She didn't want to scare Olivia so much had happened in the last few minutes and she didn't want to force Olivia into anything. Their faces were inches apart and Alex could feel Olivia's breath on her skin. She looked into Olivia's eyes and felt the tears begin to fall when Olivia closed the gap and pressed their lips together. There were no fireworks or explosions only the same love and passion that had always been there. It was short, sweet and full of love. Olivia pulled away smiling and took one of her tissues from her dress, which caused Alex to laugh, and began wiping Alex's tears from her face. "Okay"

Alex who had taken a tissue from her clutch she was carrying and began wiping Olivia's tears looked up with a shocked expression "Okay, what?"

"Okay, I'll give you a second chance. I think it may take me some time but I really want this, I want us" Alex leaned back in for a kiss but felt Olivia's hand on her shoulder. "Alex before this goes any further I need to go and explain this to Thomas"

Alex turned around and noticed Olivia's fiancé standing just out of earshot. As happy as she was to be getting a second chance she kind of felt sorry for the guy. He was about to lose Olivia and she knew how badly that hurt. "Okay. Take all the time you need. I'll be right here waiting" Alex had completely lost track of time when she felt Olivia's hand on her shoulder. She looked up and noticed that Olivia had changed and was now wearing a pair of jeans and t-shirt. Alex stood and pulled her in for a tight hug. She took a moment and asked herself how she ever let Olivia go, she also swore she would never let go again. "How did it go?"

Olivia pulled back to face Alex "Honestly not as bad as I expected. I mean he's hurt and I hate that because he is a good man but I told him I just couldn't be with him. I told him that I could never fully give him my heart because it already belonged to you" Alex started to speak but Olivia placed a finger on her lips "Would you mind giving me a ride? I have a couple bags and I really don't want to call a cab" she said with a grin.

Alex took her hand and began walking back to the steps where Olivia had set her things; she picked up Olivia's bags and began walking toward her car. Once inside Alex faced Olivia "Where too?"

"How about we go back to my apartment, we can have a cup of coffee and talk. How does that sound?"

Alex looked surprised "Your apartment? Won't Thomas be there?"

Olivia ducked her head and then looked back up at Alex "No, I mean my apartment. I never actually moved in with Thomas" now Alex really looked surprised "I know it sounds silly we were getting married and I still hadn't moved in with him, but I just couldn't. I promised him that after we were married I would let it go. I think the reason I couldn't let it go was because deep down I was trying to hold on to you. I have so many wonderful memories of us in that apartment. I mean our first time together was there, the first time you told me you loved me was in that apartment and I just couldn't let go"

Alex pulled Olivia in for a far more passionate kiss than the one they shared earlier "God I love you" she said as she pulled away. She began to pull from the church parking lot when she felt Olivia take her hand and lace their fingers together. She looked over and smiled. She knew she had a lot of work ahead of her in gaining Olivia's trust back but it was something she was committed to doing. She pulled Olivia's hand to her lips and kissed it, Alex knew that no matter what she was looking at her future.

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Epilogue

Alex slowly woke and turned to find she was alone in bed. She was about to sit up when she caught sight of Olivia standing by the window. She laid back and watched Olivia, she could hear her speaking in a soft tone but she wasn't about to interrupt the moment. Alex thought back to the day when Olivia agreed to give her a second chance. They had gone back to Olivia's apartment and talked through everything they had been through, both good and bad. There had been a lot of tears but there were a lot of smiles also. Nearly six months after that day Alex had found herself standing in a quiet corner of Central Park as Olivia walked down the aisle toward her. They said their vows in front of a small group of family and friends and then took a month long honeymoon. Olivia had tried to object but Alex wouldn't hear it. Olivia tried telling her that she didn't have to spend a ton of money on a honeymoon to prove her love. Alex again told her it wasn't about the money; it was just the fact that she wanted an entire uninterrupted month alone with her and that Olivia deserved all the best the world had to offer. They spent the first two weeks in Rome and the final two weeks in the Bahamas.

A few weeks after returning home Alex broached the subject of children, which led them to where they were now. Fourteen months after their wedding Alex gave birth to Andrew Oliver Benson. The baby may have been the spitting image of Alex, blue eyes and all, but it was already clear to her he was attached to his Mama. Alex could calm him but not near as quickly as Olivia. Alex knew some mothers would be jealous if their baby seemed to be more attached to the other parent but not her. She knew how easy it was to fall in love with Olivia and she couldn't blame their son for doing the same thing. Even at only six weeks old Alex loved how his little face seemed to light up when he heard his Mama's voice even over the phone. He even seemed to sense her presence when she would come in from work at night. Just that evening Olivia hadn't even made it to the living room and Andrew was already looking around, he seemed to know his Mama was home.

Alex was so lost in her thoughts she slightly jumped when she felt Olivia slide back in bed beside her. She turned over so they were lying face to face "I'm sorry I didn't hear him"

Olivia kissed her forehead "Don't worry. I had gotten up to use the bathroom and when I came back in he was fussing so I picked him up. He now has a full tummy and a clean diaper so we should be good to go till morning" she said with a smile. She then wrapped her arms around Alex and pulled her closer and placed a sweet kiss on her lips "I love you"

Alex snuggled in closer to her wife and sighed. She thought about how close she was to never being like this again, wrapped in Olivia's arms feeling safe and loved. She inhaled Olivia's scent and began to drift off "I love you too"


End file.
